The best — but driven to be better
Following an MVP season, Curry has turned up game another notch
TORONTO — To close out the Western Conference AllStar practice Saturday afternoon, the squad broke into two teams for a halfcourt shooting competition.
With the score knotted 4-4, a sudden-death round commenced, and without hesitation, the league’s elite players handed the ball to Stephen Curry.
Fully aware that he’s amid one of the best two-year runs in the history of the NBA, even the best of the best want the Warriors’ point guard taking the final shot.
“After last year, I didn’t really think he could top that,” Sacramento center DeMarcus Cousins said. “I guess I’ll have to move on to next year. There’s no way he can get better again, right?”
Curry is having one of the best seasons by a reigning MVP in NBA history. He’s so far ahead in the race to a second MVP that websites have started charting the order of the next five in the voting after the given of Curry taking home the trophy.
For historical context, 10 players have won consecutive MVP awards, meaning Curry could join a lofty list that includes Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Moses Malone, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash and LeBron James.
Here’s the thing: He might lead that list in improvement. Curry has bumped his scoring average six points this season. Bird, the 1983-84 season’s MVP, jumped 4.5 points per game the next season. Nash jumped 3.3 ppg after he was the MVP for the 2004-05 season, Russell jumped two points after he won for the 1960-61 season, and James jumped 1.3 points after he won for the 2008-09 season.
“He’s expanded his ways to score, getting to the basket more and improving his ability to finish at the basket with both hands,” Warriors executive board member Jerry West said of Curry. “He’s a split-second ahead of everybody. He’s much cleverer. He’s got maturity, experience and supreme confidence.
“His confidence level is ridiculous. Nobody intimidates him. Nobody bothers him. I marvel at some of the things that he does.”
“He’s always had confidence inwardly, but he’d be quick to get down on himself,” added Warriors general manager Bob Myers, who believes Curry has made drastic strides as a decision-maker and game-manager. “Now, he embodies confidence outwardly. You wouldn’t know if he made five in a row or missed five in a row. Our team feeds off of that.”
When Curry finished one three-pointer short of the single-game record this season, he asked for the number to beat and was told it was 12. “Maybe next time,” he said.
He wants to join the exclusive 50-40-90 club, a group of six (Bird, Mark Price, Reggie Miller, Nash, Dirk Nowitzki and Kevin Durant), who have finished a season shooting 50 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the foul line.
Curry checks the leaders among scorers and shooting percentage about once a week on his cell phone — something he’s done since his rookie season. “It’s all about getting better and seeing where I can improve.”
That might be what differentiates Curry. Even during an overseas shoe promotional tour this summer, he found a way to practice four hours day.
Regularly, he’s the last Warrior at practice — sometimes hours after his teammates have headed home.
“When you’re a player like he is, you’re constantly getting better,” New Orleans power forward Anthony Davis said. “You find things that you kind of struggled with last year and try to improve those things.
“He’s playing out of his mind right now. He’s acting like he lost last year in the Finals and is taking it out on this season.”
Warriors backup point guard Shaun Livingston said: “He’s gotten better every year, and
that’s what the greats do. They get better every year. For him to continue to improve, it shows his work ethic more than anything.”
When Curry announced at
media day in September that he planned to improve on his 2014-15 season — a near-perfect, magical ride that led to an MVP honor for him and the franchise’s first championship in 40 years — there were audible laughs at the news conference.
The Warriors weren’t laughing.
“It’d probably be more illogical if he didn’t get better, because he puts in the work, he’s in the prime of his career and he’s healthy,” Myers said. “I don’t know how he can improve, but I think he will. I guess I’d be surprised if he didn’t.”
West said: “Nothing he does surprises me now. I think he’s going to keep doing this for a number of years. There’s no one in the league I’d rather watch play, and that’s by a lot.
“He’s not a big, brawny guy who can dunk over people, but he’s brought an incredible element of skill and finesse to the game. He plays the game with a simplicity. He looks wise beyond his years.”
He looks like the guy everyone wants to take the last shot with the game on the line.